Burnt Offerings (Valancourt 20th Century Classics)

Burnt Offerings (Valancourt 20th Century Classics)

Ben and Marian Rolfe are desperate to escape a stifling summer in their tiny Brooklyn apartment, so when they get the chance to rent a mansion in upstate New York for the entire summer for only $900, it’s an offer that’s too good to refuse. There’s only one catch: behind a strange and intricately carved door in a distant wing of the house lives elderly Mrs. Allardyce, and the Rolfes will be responsible for preparing her meals.<br /><br />But Mrs. Allardyce never seems to emerge from her room, and it soon becomes clear that something weird and terrifying is happening in the house. As the suspense builds towards a revelation of what really lies behind that locked door, the Rolfes will discover that their cheap vacation rental comes at a terrible cost . . .<br /><br />The basis for a classic 1976 film adaptation and an acknowledged influence on Stephen King’s <i>The Shining</i>, <i>Burnt Offerings</i> is one of the most original and scariest haunted house novels ever written. This edition, the first in decades, features a new introduction by award-winning author Stephen Graham Jones.<br /><br />“<i>Burnt Offerings</i> has no peer. Better than <i>Rosemary’s Baby</i>, <i>The Other</i>, and <i>The Exorcist</i>.” - <i>Hartford Courant</i><br /><br />“Insidiously frightening . . . It snares you early and draws you inexorably to one of the most nerve-shattering finales in years.” - <i>Publishers Weekly</i><br /><br />“Just pick a quiet place and an uninterrupted time to read this novel. You’ll be inclined to jump at sudden noises or even hurl the book at intruders.” - <i>Chicago Tribune</i>